Fukuoka City District
Fukuoka City, commonly known as simply Fukuoka, is a District in The Reaper's Game. Radically different from the Game in Shibuya, Fukuoka produces a variety of unique Reapers thanks to its particular systems. Current Standing Officers and Roles Note that different terms are used for the hierarchy of Reapers within Fukuoka's borders. For the sake of simplicity, Shibuya's equivalent title will be listed next to the Fukuokan title if applicable. Producer: Scheherazade The Producer of Fukuoka City is ultimately the one responsible for the District's current set-up. A foreign woman of Middle Eastern descent, Scheherazade's moniker is believed to be a nom de plume, though she legitimately claims to be the real Scheherazade in spite of the Alf Layla Wa Layla being obviously fictional in nature. Whether or not she's telling the truth is up for debate, but nonetheless Scheherazade is a powerful force in Fukuoka's UG. In a stark contrast to the average Producer, Scheherazade is prone to meddling in the Week's affairs, usually as an Epilogue challenge should someone collect the whole set of Lucky Pins (Lady Luck, etc.). If required to take a role in the Story, she almost universally claims a deific role. Writer (Composer): Kenji Shinonome The Writer, despite the name, acts as more of an editor to the Story; they are the one to oversee the script a Storyteller comes up with, suggesting changes as necessary, and selecting the best Story from the Reapers to be performed in the next Week. Additionally, the Writer is usually the one to "suggest" a Plot Twist to one of the Reapers in the Story. The creation of the Set - the UG's appearance for the Week - is done by the Writer. The current Writer is Kenji Shinonome, who himself was a professional fiction writer prior to his untimely death; these days, he sells manuscripts of the Stories Fukuoka has completed when a Week is complete. Outside of this, however, little is truly known about Kenji, as he chooses more often than not to while his days away in the God's Pad. Editor (Conductor): Toume Okazawa The Editor handles the preparation of the Protagonists, deciding their Entry Fees and setting up their inevitable costume requirements as well as their Pins and Psychs in addition to their usual duties as Conductor. When the Writer has made the first editing pass of the Story, it then goes to the Editor for final review before being fully green-lit. The current Editor is Toume Okazawa, a young girl whose mannerisms and style of speech belie her seeming age. Why she talks and acts as if years old is unknown, but many speculate it to be an unnerving truth they don't wish to deal with. Toume is also the one who handles the majority of deals and meetings with other Districts. Storyteller (Game Master) The role of the Game Master is known simply as the Storyteller, the ultimate arbitrator of the Plot of a Story week. Functionally they are identical to the regular Game Master; however, a Storyteller only dies at the end of a Story if the Plot calls for it (or a particularly dangerous Plot Twist occurs). The Storyteller is also the one to assign the Reapers their Roles during the Game There are a few caveats to the Storyteller role. Firstly, the Storyteller role may not be held by the same Reaper twice in a row. Secondly, it is highly suggested that the Storyteller be flexible with their Plot. Finally, should a Reaper's Plot Twist erase the Week's Storyteller (see Plot Twists below), that Reaper must automatically assume the mantle and take up the old Plot. Overseer There is a special Role unique to Fukuoka's Reapers called the Overseer. The Overseer makes sure that everyone participating in the Story remains in-character while a Chapter is in progress. Repeated out-of-character infractions, regardless of whether they are Player or Reaper, sees them Erased at the hands of the Overseer. The Overseer is otherwise a regular Reaper with all the caveats that entails. If an Overseer refuses to Erase someone who repeatedly breaks character, they are erased by the Editor, and a new Reaper is promoted to Overseer on the spot. Reapers Similarly to Protagonists, Reapers assume a persona for the Story dependent on their Role and what the Storyteller requires of them (see Reapers below). For the most part, a Reaper's Role remains relatively static throughout their time in Fukuoka; that is to say, a Reaper who plays the role of a witch in one story will generally play sorcerous roles. Switching one's Persona is possible, though generally frowned upon. Most Reapers' roles are a direct result of keeping their entry fee due to either losing the Story or actively choosing to be a Reaper during the week. Examples of Fukuoka-native Reapers are below: Yoko Kawashima -'' A strong-willed, selfish Reaper whose roles revolve around sorcery and witchcraft. Yoko does not bother with things that do not interest her or ensure she is not the center of attention at all times. She is known to disappear if the leylines of an area are not to her liking. ''Sako Takenaka -'' The younger sister of Takehiko Takenaka and a military-themed idol singer, who generally takes command roles or "wartime singer" roles, whatever those may be. She is not fond of her lot in life, and is the most prone to acting totally different from her role once off-duty. She is estranged from her family and her brother in particular. ''DJ Prin✪Cess - A Reaper that takes the roles of a medieval princess. By night, however, she moonlights as a gansta rapper popular in Fukuoka's underground music scene, so she is sometimes required to play the role of a DJ in more urban-based stories. She always dresses like royalty and talks like a thug, combining two drastically different roles with aplomb. Information In Fukuoka, Games are run more like a Story than the standard Game as seen in Shibuya; indeed, the differences are so radical that many Reapers transferring into Fukuoka are prone to culture shock of a sort. Participants and witnesses alike to Fukuoka's Game Weeks leave with unbelievable stories of the Game, filled to the brim with anachronistic meshes and impossible storylines. This is what has earned Fukuoka's Game as a whole the moniker of "The Impossible Saga"; a District where you can see just about anything you can imagine happening. Speculation runs high in other fields that the Imagination levels of Fukuoka must be incredibly high to allow for such tomfoolery. Regardless of the why, however, it is clear that Fukuoka's games provide a wildly different experience from the Tokyo games, and perhaps within Japan as a whole. To summarize in brief, the Players are known as the Protagonists, the ostensible heroes of the Story, and participate in seven Chapters worth of plot and story to get to the end of the Story, defeating the Storyteller as their final antagonist. The structure is not terribly different from the average Game; however, due to Fukuoka's extenuating circumstances the Game ends up being wildly different as a result. Unlike in Shibuya where there is often a significant wait time between Games, Fukuoka's Stories are highly malleable in their timeframe; so long as a Reaper's Plot is accepted, it is totally possible for several Stories to happen back-to-back, and by the same token it is possible to go months without a Story at all. Entry Fee Fukuoka does not take something from Protagonists for its Entry Fee. Rather, Fukuoka does something unique: An interest or hobby of the Protagonists is taken and heavily amplified, to the point that they wish to live and breathe their hobby or interest to the point of obsession. This is because the Fukuoka Game focuses on the values of tolerance, acceptance, and understanding. This entry fee is the source of Fukuoka's moniker: The average Story's Protagonists can consist of an idol singer, a cowboy, a Soviet conscript, a medieval knight, a ninja, a nun, a maid, a centurion of Rome, and anything in-between. This sounds fun to the average viewer, but the Entry Fee is surprisingly destructive - especially when looking past the surface. Many Players would prefer that their secret desires, hobbies and obsessions would stay that way, and forcing them to the surface can be problematic. An example would be someone that enjoys cross-dressing becoming a member of the opposite gender, having previously been taught that such desire is a bad thing to have. Tension can rise between groups depending on the hobby in question; an example of this would be two idol singer hobbyists becoming rival idols when they should be working together to complete the Story. Finally, the Entry Fee does not discriminate - should a potential Player have no major interests, or have interests too broad for use, a randomised hobby is forced upon them, usually to disastrous ends. The Writer maintains to critics of this system that it is good, fitting in with the facets the Fukuoka Game seeks to bring out within its Players. By forcing these interests and hobbies into the open, Players are required to accept two things over the course of the week. The first is that one's passions are not meant to bring shame to their existence, while the second is that the passions of those around you should not impact your perception of them. Whether or not the validity of this statement is verifiable is up for debate, though Fukuoka has had little trouble with the system currently in place. Reapers and Plot Twists Reapers effectively take two sets of Roles within the Story: Antagonists and Allies. Antagonists work directly under the Storyteller to harass and attack Players, much like Harrier Reapers elsewhere, while Allies act more as NPCs who serve some purpose to the Protagonists for the sake of Plot, similarly (though not entirely) to Support Reapers. Older Reaper and Veteran Reapers of the District have the ability to request a certain Role; however, if the number of Antagonists or Allies is disproportionately high then they may get no choice in the matter. Reapers have the unique Ability to activate what is known as a Plot Twist - the ability to, through their own actions, steer the Story in a different direction different from what the Storyteller originally intended. These are usually benign, though it is not uncommon for a Plot Twist to go awry and end in someone's Erasure. One to two Plot Twists is generally considered the unspoken rule in Fukuoka; any more and the Story becomes a convoluted mess. Too many Plot Twists by one Reaper will see them Erased at the hands of the Overseer. The Set Fukuoka's Game encompasses the entirety of Fukuoka City and its seven wards, as well as the parts of the Genkai Sea that make a bay within Fukuoka's confines. This means that Games are comparatively huge and require a lot of legwork; more importantly, however, is that the UG of Fukuoka City - colloquially known as The Set - is highly malleable. The Writer is capable of molding the UG's appearance to match a certain aesthetic, such as feudal Japan. Additionally, certain places exist in the UG that no longer exist in the RG; Fukuoka Sky Dream, the amusement park that closed in 2009, still exists in the UG, and Reapers as well as those waiting to Play are allowed to visit the park in the off-weeks, where the park is inexplicably staffed by Noise. Tomfoolery aside, the Writer's ability to mold the set as they please allows Storytellers greater creative freedom in their Plots, especially when combined with the Protagonist's Entry Fees. With a snap of the fingers, Fukuoka's UG can look like a fantasy kingdom, a Sengoku-era battlefield, or a stormy sea in preparation to face the White Whale. When between Stories, Fukuoka's UG is simply that of the city itself, albeit with the occasional anachronism (such as the aforementioned Sky Dream). History For the longest time, Fukuoka City itself was divided into two cities, each with their own UG - Fukuoka in the west and Hakata in the East. In 1889, the two cities merged in the RG; this coincided with the arrival of Scheherazade as Fukuoka's Producer - and the takeover of Hakata's UG by Fukuoka, effectively doubling the size of the UG. Since then, however, there have been few problems in the UG as far as Fukuoka goes. However, it is impossible to ignore that Fukuoka's UG grew again via hostile takeover in 1975, this time coinciding with Sawara being absorbed into Fukuoka. Other Districts near the city have voiced concerns about Fukuoka's seemingly power-hungry landgrabs, though since that time there have been few, if any, dangerous movements from Fukuoka. Regardless, Scheherazade established Fukuoka's current system almost immediately after taking the mantle of Producer, meaning that this system has existed for well near a century without any major changes. That in itself is admirable, though more conspiracy-prone Reapers in Kyushu Island suspect something sinister in the shadows. Trivia * Every so often, a special Game is held in Fukuoka. Usually this coincides with an event of some kind, such as the festival of Yamakasa in July, the routing of the Mongols via the Divine Wind, or the battle between the Tachibana and Shimazu clans of the Sengoku period. * The God's Pad of Fukuoka is found at the top floors of Fukuoka Tower in the Sawara Ward; prior to its construction the God's Pad was located at Mt. Nagatare. Visitors to Fukuoka are allowed to watch the Game from a variety of places, including the Tower, the Sky Dream park, Canal City, and others. Given that the Set can change wildly, it seems that the Writer uses some form of space-altering ability to create a viewing area for Reapers. * Fukuoka is, for some reason, incredibly into copyright protection - references to popular series are often molded into generic counterparts. This is a rude awakening for Protagonists super into Pokemon who think they'll get to have actual Pokemon only to find themselves labeled a generic "Beast Tamer". Rumors abound that there are exceptions to this rule, especially during special Stories. Category:Districts